| Liga BetPlay Dimayor | |
| Pixels: | 200px |
| Confed: | CONMEBOL |
| Organiser: | DIMAYOR |
| Teams: | 20 |
| Relegation: | Categoría Primera B |
| Levels: | 1 |
| Confed Cup: | Copa Libertadores Copa Sudamericana |
| Top Goalscorer: | Dayro Moreno (236 goals) |
| Most Appearances: | Gabriel Berdugo (733) |
| Champions: | Atlético Bucaramanga (1st title) |
| Season: | 2024–I |
| Most Successful Club: | Atlético Nacional (17 titles) |
| Tv: | Win Sports, Win+ Fútbol |
| Current: | 2024 season |
The Categoría Primera A (pronounced as /es/), commonly referred to as Liga BetPlay Dimayor due to sponsorship by online betting company BetPlay,[1] is a Colombian professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's premier football tournament and sits at the top of the Colombian football league system.
A total of twenty clubs compete in the league's regular season. División Mayor del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano, better known as DIMAYOR, organizes the competition and operates the league system of promotion and relegation for both Categoría Primera A and Categoría Primera B leagues. Since its foundation in 1948, fifteen teams have been crowned as Colombian football champions. The most successful club is Atlético Nacional with 17 titles. The league was ranked as the 11th strongest national league in the world at the end of 2023 by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics.[2]
Before 1948 there was no professional football league in Colombia. The first clubs were formed in Barranquilla and Bogotá: Barranquilla FC, Polo Club, Escuela Militar and Bartolinos, although the game took a while to develop in popularity.[3] The 1918 Campeonato Nacional was the first tournament played between Colombian clubs, followed by the Copa Centenario Batalla de Boyacá. Independiente Medellín, founded on 15 April 1913, is the oldest club that remains as a professional club.[4] The first tournament was organised by the Colombian Football Federation and DIMAYOR in 1948. Ten teams signed up for this first tournament, paying the required fee of 1,000 pesos). Two teams each signed on from Bogotá, Cali, Manizales, and Pereira, plus one from Barranquilla.[5] 252 players were registered for that year's tournament, 182 of which were Colombians, 13 were Argentine, 8 Peruvian, 5 Uruguayan, 2 Chilean, 2 Ecuadorian, 1 Dominican, and 1 Spanish.
Soon after the league's foundation, disputes between Adefútbol (the body governing amateur football in Colombia) and DIMAYOR (the organizing body behind the new national league) erupted. DIMAYOR broke away from Adefútbol, announcing that it would operate independently of FIFA rules and regulations. In response, FIFA sanctioned Colombian football, banning the national team and all its clubs from international competition. This period, which lasted from 1949 to 1954, is known as El Dorado.
Far from being a dark time in Colombian football, this was its golden age. No longer required to pay transfer fees to clubs from other nations, Colombian clubs began importing stars from all over South America and Europe. The most aggressive signer of international players was Millonarios, which won consecutive championships with stars such as Alfredo di Stéfano. Attendances boomed, and the expanding appetite for club competitions resulted in the creation of the Copa Colombia in 1950. That knockout competition was played sporadically over the next 58 years and only became an annual tournament in 2008.[6] Although the stars returned to their nations when Colombia rejoined the international fold in 1954, the era was never forgotten.[7]
In 1968 the league started following the pattern emerging in South America by replacing its year-long tournament with two shorter ones. From this point forward, Colombian clubs would compete in two tournaments a year; the Apertura from February to June and the Finalización from July to December, which became independent championships in 2002. Another league restructuring came in 1991, with the addition of second and third divisions. The third division had its 2002 edition cancelled for economic reasons, and stopped awarding promotion to the professional tiers in 2003 until it was finally dropped in 2010.
The current format of Colombian football was adopted for the 2019 season. The top flight features 20 teams, all of which play through the Apertura and Finalización tournaments each year. Both tournaments are conducted according to an identical three-stage format, and have been independent title-awarding tournaments since 2002.
The first stage is conducted on a single round-robin basis, with each team playing the other teams once for a total of 19 matches, although an extra round of regional derbies has been included in most seasons. The top eight teams then advance to a semi-final round consisting of two groups of four teams, each team playing the others in their group twice in a double round-robin format. The two group winners advance to the final, which is played in a home-and-away double-legged fashion.
Relegation to Categoría Primera B is determined by averaging the point totals achieved by teams in the first stage of the competition over the previous three seasons. Each year, the bottom two teams drop out and are replaced by the top two from Primera B.[8]
This is the complete list of the clubs that have taken part in at least one Categoría Primera A season, founded in 1948, until the 2024 season.[9] [10] Teams that currently play are indicated in bold.
The same trophy has been used to commemorate the annual champion since 1948. Made of German silver, weighing roughly 5 kilos and measuring approximately 90 centimeters tall, in its upper part it has the figure of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, which has been used to represent sporting triumph with the passing of history. The original trophy, which is engraved with the names of all the champion clubs, is kept at the headquarters of DIMAYOR and is only exhibited for fixture draws or events with sponsors, with the champions being awarded an exact replica.[11] Along with the competition's official trophy, the champions are also awarded an additional trophy handed over by the league's sponsor.[12]
See main article: Colombian football clubs in international competitions.
| width=20 | Rank | width=145 | Player | width=160 | Years | width=55 | Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gabriel Berdugo | 1968–1984 | 733[14] [15] | ||||
| 2 | Alexis García | 1980–1998 | 723 | ||||
| 3 | Arturo Segovia | 1963–1979 | 706 | ||||
| 4 | Jorge Bermúdez | 1989–96, 2005, 2006–07 | 682 | ||||
| 5 | Misael Flórez | 1962–1981 | 652 |
| width=20 | Rank | width=190 | Player | width=120 | Years | width=55 | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dayro Moreno | 2003–present | 236[17] | ||||
| 2 |  Sergio Galván Rey | 1996–2011 | 224[18] | ||||
| 3 | Iván Valenciano | 1988–2009 | 217 | ||||
| 4 | Hugo Lóndero | 1969–1981 | 211 | ||||
| 5 | Oswaldo Palavecino | 1975–1985 | 204 | ||||
| 6 | Jorge Ramírez Gallego | 1962–1975 | 201 | ||||
| 7 | Omar Devani | 1962–1975 | 200 | ||||
| 8 | Víctor Aristizábal | 1990–2007 | 187 | ||||
| 9 | Arnoldo Iguarán | 1977–1997 | 186 | ||||
| 10 | Willington Ortiz | 1972–1988 | 184 |
The only tournament that was not awarded to a champion occurred in 1989, after the assassination of referee Álvaro Ortega on October 1 in Medellín. All games, post-season games and international representation for the following year were cancelled.[19] [20]
| width=px | Ed. | Season | width=170px | Champion (title count) | width=170px | Runner-up | width=180px | Winning manager | width=520px | Leading goalscorer(s)[21] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Carlos Carrillo Nalda | Alfredo Castillo (Millonarios; 31 goals) | |||||||||
| Pedro Cabillón (Millonarios; 42 goals) | ||||||||||
| Alfredo Cuezzo | Casimiro Ávalos (Deportivo Pereira; 27 goals) | |||||||||
| Alfredo Di Stéfano (Millonarios; 31 goals) | ||||||||||
| Alfredo Di Stéfano (Millonarios; 19 goals) | ||||||||||
| Mario Garelli (Atlético Quindío; 20 goals) | ||||||||||
| Carlos Alberto Gambina (Atlético Nacional; 21 goals) | ||||||||||
| Felipe Marino (Independiente Medellín; 22 goals) | ||||||||||
| Jaime Gutiérrez (Atlético Quindío; 21 goals) | ||||||||||
| René Seghini | José Vicente Grecco (Independiente Medellín; 30 goals) | |||||||||
| Julio Tocker | José Américo Montanini (Atlético Bucaramanga; 36 goals) | |||||||||
| Felipe Marino (Cúcuta Deportivo / Independiente Medellín; 35 goals) | ||||||||||
| Julio Tocker | Walter Marcolini (Deportivo Cali; 30 goals) | |||||||||
| Alberto Perazzo (Santa Fe; 32 goals) | ||||||||||
| José Omar Verdún (Cúcuta Deportivo; 36 goals) | ||||||||||
| Omar Devani (Atlético Bucaramanga; 36 goals) José Omar Verdún (Cúcuta Deportivo; 36 goals) | ||||||||||
| Omar Devani (Unión Magdalena / Atlético Bucaramanga; 28 goals) | ||||||||||
| Francisco Villegas | Perfecto Rodríguez (Independiente Medellín; 38 goals) | |||||||||
| Omar Devani (Santa Fe; 31 goals) | ||||||||||
| Francisco Villegas | José María Ferrero (Millonarios; 38 goals) | |||||||||
| Antonio Julio de la Hoz | José María Ferrero (Millonarios; 32 goals) | |||||||||
| Francisco Villegas | Hugo Lóndero (América de Cali; 25 goals) | |||||||||
| Roberto Reskín | José María Ferrero (Cúcuta Deportivo; 27 goals) Walter Sossa (Santa Fe; 27 goals) | |||||||||
| Hugo Lóndero (Cúcuta Deportivo; 30 goals) Apolinar Paniagua (Deportivo Pereira; 30 goals) | ||||||||||
| Hugo Lóndero (Cúcuta Deportivo; 27 goals) | ||||||||||
| Nelson Silva Pacheco (Cúcuta Deportivo / Junior; 36 goals) | ||||||||||
 Víctor Ephanor (Junior; 33 goals) | ||||||||||
| Jorge Ramón Cáceres (Deportivo Pereira; 35 goals) | ||||||||||
| Miguel Angel Converti (Millonarios; 33 goals) | ||||||||||
| Oswaldo Marcial Palavecino (Atlético Nacional; 33 goals) | ||||||||||
| Oswaldo Marcial Palavecino (Atlético Nacional; 36 goals) | ||||||||||
| Juan José Irigoyén (Millonarios; 36 goals) | ||||||||||
| Sergio Cierra (Deportivo Pereira; 26 goals) | ||||||||||
| Víctor Hugo del Río (Deportes Tolima; 29 goals) | ||||||||||
| Miguel Oswaldo González (Atlético Bucaramanga; 27 goals) | ||||||||||
| Hugo Gottardi (Santa Fe; 29 goals) | ||||||||||
| Hugo Gottardi (Independiente Santa Fe; 23 goals) | ||||||||||
| Miguel Oswaldo González (Atlético Bucaramanga; 34 goals) | ||||||||||
| Héctor Ramón Sossa (Independiente Medellín; 23 goals) | ||||||||||
| Luis Augusto García | Jorge Aravena (Deportivo Cali; 23 goals) | |||||||||
| Luis Augusto García | Sergio Angulo (Santa Fe; 29 goals) | |||||||||
| Championship not awarded | ||||||||||
| Antony de Ávila (América de Cali; 25 goals) | ||||||||||
| Iván Valenciano (Junior; 30 goals) | ||||||||||
| John Jairo Tréllez (Atlético Nacional; 25 goals) | ||||||||||
| Miguel Guerrero (Junior; 34 goals) | ||||||||||
| Juan José Peláez | Rubén Darío Hernández (Independiente Medellín / Deportivo Pereira / América de Cali; 32 goals) | |||||||||
| Iván Valenciano (Junior; 24 goals) | ||||||||||
| Iván Valenciano (Junior; 36 goals) | ||||||||||
| Hamilton Ricard (Deportivo Cali; 36 goals) | ||||||||||
| Víctor Bonilla (Deportivo Cali; 37 goals) | ||||||||||
| Sergio Galván Rey (Once Caldas; 26 goals) | ||||||||||
| Carlos Alberto Castro (Millonarios; 24 goals) | ||||||||||
| Carlos Alberto Castro (Millonarios; 29 goals) Jorge Horacio Serna (Independiente Medellín; 29 goals) | ||||||||||
| Apertura | Luis Fernando Zuleta (Unión Magdalena; 13 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Orlando Ballesteros (Atlético Bucaramanga; 13 goals) Milton Rodríguez (Deportivo Pereira; 13 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Arnulfo Valentierra (Once Caldas; 13 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Léider Preciado (Deportivo Cali; 17 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Sergio Herrera (América de Cali; 13 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Leonardo Fabio Moreno (América de Cali; 15 goals) Léider Preciado (Santa Fe; 15 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Víctor Aristizábal (Atlético Nacional; 16 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Jámerson Rentería (Real Cartagena; 12 goals) Hugo Rodallega (Deportivo Cali; 12 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Jorge Díaz Moreno (Cúcuta Deportivo; 15 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Diego Álvarez (Independiente Medellín; 11 goals) Jhon Charría (Deportes Tolima; 11 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Óscar Héctor Quintabani | Fredy Montero (Atlético Huila; 13 goals) Sergio Galván Rey (Atlético Nacional; 13 goals) | ||||||||
| Finalización | Óscar Héctor Quintabani | Dayro Moreno (Once Caldas; 16 goals) | ||||||||
| Apertura | Miguel Caneo (Boyacá Chicó; 13 goals) Iván Velásquez (Deportes Quindío; 13 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Fredy Montero (Deportivo Cali; 16 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Javier Álvarez | Teófilo Gutiérrez (Junior; 16 goals) | ||||||||
| Finalización | Jackson Martínez (Independiente Medellín; 18 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Carlos Bacca (Junior; 12 goals) Carlos Rentería (La Equidad; 12 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Wilder Medina (Deportes Tolima; 16 goals) Dayro Moreno (Once Caldas; 16 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Carlos Rentería (Atlético Nacional; 12 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Carlos Bacca (Junior; 12 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Wilson Gutiérrez | Robin Ramírez (Deportes Tolima; 13 goals) | ||||||||
| Finalización | Henry Hernández (Cúcuta Deportivo; 9 goals) Carmelo Valencia (La Equidad; 9 goals) Germán Cano (Independiente Medellín; 9 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Wilder Medina (Santa Fe; 12 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Dayro Moreno (Millonarios; 16 goals) Luis Carlos Ruiz (Junior; 16 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Dayro Moreno (Millonarios; 12 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Germán Cano (Independiente Medellín; 16 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Fernando Castro | Fernando Uribe (Millonarios; 15 goals) | ||||||||
| Finalización | Jefferson Duque (Atlético Nacional; 15 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Miguel Borja (Cortuluá; 19 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Ayron del Valle (Millonarios; 12 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Dayro Moreno (Atlético Nacional; 14 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Yimmi Chará (Junior; 11 goals) Ayron del Valle (Millonarios; 11 goals) Dayro Moreno (Atlético Nacional; 11 goals) Carmelo Valencia (La Equidad; 11 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Germán Cano (Independiente Medellín; 12 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Germán Cano (Independiente Medellín; 20 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Germán Cano (Independiente Medellín; 21 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Germán Cano (Independiente Medellín; 13 goals) Michael Rangel (América de Cali; 13 goals) | |||||||||
| Miguel Borja (Junior; 14 goals) | ||||||||||
| Apertura | Jefferson Duque (Atlético Nacional; 11 goals) Fernando Uribe (Millonarios; 11 goals) Diego Herazo (La Equidad; 11 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Harold Preciado (Deportivo Cali; 13 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Dayro Moreno (Atlético Bucaramanga; 13 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Leonardo Castro (Deportivo Pereira; 15 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Marco Pérez (Águilas Doradas; 13 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | Carlos Bacca (Junior; 18 goals) | |||||||||
| Apertura | Carlos Bacca (Junior; 12 goals) Hugo Rodallega (Santa Fe; 12 goals) | |||||||||
| Finalización | ||||||||||
Source for champions and runners-up by season: RSSSF[22]
| scope=col width=30 | Rank | scope=col width=200 | Club | scope=col width=80 | Winners | scope=col width=100 | Runners-up | scope=col class="unsortable" | Winning years | scope=col class="unsortable" | Runners-up years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlético Nacional | 17 | 12 | 1954, 1973, 1976, 1981, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2005–I, 2007–I, 2007–II, 2011–I, 2013–I, 2013–II, 2014–I, 2015–II, 2017–I, 2022–I | 1955, 1965, 1971, 1974, 1988, 1990, 1992, 2002–I, 2004–I, 2004–II, 2018–I, 2023–I | ||||||
| 2 | Millonarios | 16 | 10 | 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1972, 1978, 1987, 1988, 2012–II, 2017–II, 2023–I | 1950, 1956, 1958, 1967, 1973, 1975, 1984, 1994, 1995–96, 2021–I | ||||||
| 3 | América de Cali | 15 | 7 | 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1992, 1996–97, 2000, 2001, 2002–I, 2008–II, 2019–II, 2020 | 1960, 1969, 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2008–I | ||||||
| 4 | Deportivo Cali | 10 | 14 | 1965, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1995–96, 1998, 2005–II, 2015–I, 2021–II | 1949, 1962, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1985, 1986, 2003–II, 2006–I, 2013–II, 2017–I | ||||||
| Junior | 10 | 10 | 1977, 1980, 1993, 1995, 2004–II, 2010–I, 2011–II, 2018–II, 2019–I, 2023–II | 1948, 1970, 1983, 2000, 2003–I, 2009–I, 2014–I, 2015–II, 2016–I, 2019–II | |||||||
| 6 | Santa Fe | 9 | 7 | 1948, 1958, 1960, 1966, 1971, 1975, 2012–I, 2014–II, 2016–II | 1963, 1979, 2005–I, 2013–I, 2017–II, 2020, 2024–I | ||||||
| 7 | Independiente Medellín | 6 | 12 | 1955, 1957, 2002–II, 2004–I, 2009–II, 2016–I | 1959, 1961, 1966, 1993, 2001, 2008–II, 2012–II, 2014–II, 2015–I, 2018–II, 2022–II, 2023–II | ||||||
| 8 | Once Caldas | 4 | 2 | 1950, 2003–I, 2009–I, 2010–II | 1998, 2011–II | ||||||
| 9 | Deportes Tolima | 3 | 8 | 2003–II, 2018–I, 2021–I | 1957, 1981, 1982, 2006–II, 2010–II, 2016–II, 2021–II, 2022–I | ||||||
| 10 | Deportivo Pasto | 1 | 3 | 2006–I | 2002–II, 2012–I, 2019–I | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 1956 | 1953, 1954 | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 2006–II | 1964 | ||||||||
| Atlético Bucaramanga | 1 | 1 | 2024–I | 1996–97 | |||||||
| 1 | — | 1968 | — | ||||||||
| Boyacá Chicó | 1 | — | 2008–I | — | |||||||
| Deportivo Pereira | 1 | — | 2022–II | — | |||||||
| — | La Equidad | align=center rowspan="4" | — | 3 | align=center rowspan="4" | — | 2007–II, 2010–I, 2011–I | ||||
| 2 | 1951, 1952 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 2007–I, 2009–II | ||||||||||
| 1 | 2005–II | ||||||||||